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SNEAK PEEK – MARK MAZZETTI, a national-security correspondent for the N.Y. Times, currently writing a book about the C.I.A. since 9/11, in the NYT Magazine, “THE DRONE ZONE: At a desert facility, Air Force pilots are trained to fight America’s remote-controlled wars”: “Holloman Air Force Base, at the eastern edge of New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, … was once famous for the daredevil maneuvers of those who trained there. … Today many of the pilots at Holloman never get off the ground. The base has been converted into the U.S. Air Force’s primary training center for drone operators, where pilots spend their days in sand-colored trailers near a runway from which their planes take off without them. Inside each trailer, a pilot flies his plane from a padded chair, using a joystick and throttle, as his partner, the ‘sensor operator,’ focuses on the grainy images moving across a video screen, directing missiles to their targets with a laser. … [M]ilitary leaders estimate that, within a year or so, the number of Air Force pilots flying unmanned planes could be higher than the number who actually leave the ground …

“[T]he movement shown on a drone pilot’s video screen has over the years been seconds behind what the drone sees — a delay caused by the time it takes to bounce a signal off a satellite in space. This problem, called ‘latency,’ has long bedeviled drone pilots, making it difficult to hit a moving target. Last year senior operatives with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula told a Yemeni reporter that if they hear an American drone overhead, they move around as much as possible. (Military officials said that they have made progress in recent years in addressing the latency problem but declined to provide details.) … [P]ilots at Holloman who have flown drone combat missions speak glowingly about a lifestyle that allows them to fight a war without going to war. … Pilots have flown missions over Afghanistan in the morning, stopped for lunch, fought the Iraq war in the afternoon and then driven home in time for dinner.” http://nyti.ms/MJ9CuZ

SENTENCE DU JOUR – Campbell Rampell, in N.Y. Times lead story: “With Friday’s [jobs] report, what looked like a blip has now become a streak.” http://nyti.ms/PuBp3Q

FIRST LOOK – E.J. Dionne Jr., for Monday: “DENVER -- The path to the White House passes through the blue-collar communities in Ohio where President Obama campaigned last week -- and the middle-class suburbs of Colorado where he did well four years ago. The two states illustrate the imperative for both parties to assemble coalitions that cross class lines. Obama did precisely this in 2008. In Colorado, 58 percent of the state's voters had college or postgraduate degrees -- and Obama built his nine-point margin over John McCain largely within this highly educated group. In Ohio, where 39 percent of voters had college or advanced degrees, Obama scored a five-point victory. He edged McCain across all educational groups. …

“For [Sen. Sherrod] Brown [D-Ohio], who faces re-election this year, one of the voters he keeps in mind is the ‘guy in Zanesville who made big things with his hands and now has gone from $17 an hour to $11 an hour.’ The candidate who speaks to voters like Brown's Zanesville worker -- and to his white-collar equivalent in Colorado -- is likely to win the election. … Obama's challenge is to offer an economics of national pride and renewal that answers the sense of betrayal these voters began feeling long before he took office.” –Investor’s Business Daily

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN, as “Joe Cool” on the cover of The (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) Citizens’ Voice (hat tip: Brent Colburn’s Obama for America “Week in Review”) http://bit.ly/Ndc5rO

PRESIDENT OBAMA, in his radio and YouTube address, taped in Boardman Township, Ohio: “Hi, everybody. I’m here in Ohio, where I’ve spent the past couple days talking with folks about our central challenge as a country – not just reclaiming all the jobs lost to the recession, but reclaiming the economic security that so many Americans have lost over the last decade. Our mission isn’t just to put people back to work – it’s to rebuild an economy where that work pays; an economy in which everyone who works hard has the chance to get ahead.”

MITT ROMNEY, responding to the jobs report, at Bradley’s Hardware in Wolfeboro, N.H., was asked if he should be vacationing “as this rather grim economic news is coming out”: “I'm delighted to be able to take a vacation with my family. I think all Americans appreciate the memories that they have with their children and their grandchildren. I hope that more Americans are able to take vacations. And if I'm president of the United States, I'm going to work very hard to make sure we have good jobs for all Americans who want good jobs and, as part of a good job, the capacity to take a vacation now and then with their loved ones.”

TOP TALKER – 4-D MOVIES – L.A. Times A1, “Filmgoing gets a new dimension,” by Richard Verrier: “As the giant spaceship crashes into the mysterious planet, the seats inside the movie theater heave back and forth and rumble like an earthquake. ‘Back ticklers’ in the seats thump as an astronaut dodges fireballs … A strobe light flashes and huge fans expel gusts of air reeking of smoke and gunpowder. In the latest bid to attract moviegoers back to multiplexes, where 3-D … is already the norm, technology and entertainment companies are pushing a new system known as 4-D. At the leading edge of the technology is South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, which operates Asia's largest theater chain and has set up a laboratory near Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to demonstrate and market its 4DX system. …

“In addition to the moving seats, [CJ] installs tiny nozzles that spray water, mist, bubbles, air and odors from a collection of 1,000 scents, such as rose garden, coffee, women's perfume, burning rubber and gunpowder. The theaters, containing up to 240 seats, also have giant fans and strobe lights to simulate wind, lightning flashes and explosions. It takes 16 to 20 days to program the 4-D effects into a movie, using special software to control such things as wind level and seat vibration. … It costs about $2 million to design and outfit a 4-D theater, with exhibitors covering half the costs. CJ Group says circuits quickly recoup their investment because the theaters are so popular.” http://lat.ms/N7xt4E

THE JUICE: Kevin Madden, continuing as a senior adviser to the Romney campaign, will travel on the road more. Madden’s increased visibility reflects the whole campaign’s expansion. The comms shops has grown from 12 to 40 since April 10, when Rick Santorum dropped out.

TOP STORY – “Dismal US hiring shows economy stuck in low gear,” by Reuters’ Jason Lange: “Job creation was too weak to bring down the country's 8.2 percent jobless rate and the report fueled concerns that Europe's debt crisis was shifting the U.S. economy into low gear. … Last month, the Fed extended a program aimed at keeping long-term interest rates down and said it was prepared to do more to spur the economic recovery if needed. The somber jobs report could move the central bank closer to a third round of so-called quantitative easing, or QE3. … Economists estimate roughly 125,000 jobs are needed each month just to hold the jobless rate steady. During the second quarter, job creation averaged 75,000 per month, down from an average of 226,000 in the first quarter.

“Part of the slowdown could be because mild weather led companies to boost hiring during the winter at spring's expense. But weakness in everything from factory activity to retail sales suggests something more fundamental is at play … In June, factories added 11,000 workers and construction employment edged up 2,000, the first gain since January and further evidence the long-depressed housing market is steadying. However, hiring slowed sharply in the services industry, with retailers cutting 5,400 workers. Overall, private-sector hiring was the weakest since August. … Until recently, the United States had been a relatively bright spot in the global economy, especially in manufacturing, and most economists still expect lackluster growth over the rest of 2012 rather than a slip toward recession.”

COMING ATTRACTIONS – Times of London cover, “Criminal inquiry on rate fixing,” by Patrick Hosking and Mark Bridge: “The rigging of markets and cheating of trading partners by Barclays and possibly others is to be the subject of a full criminal investigation, the Serious Fraud Office confirmed yesterday. … A case team is now being formed to investigate the affair, in which Barclays was found to have manipulated Libor to enrich itself.”

** A message about What Works: GE, with its 140-year history, is committed to creating jobs, building the economy and empowering communities. Today, it helps support some 830,000 jobs across the U.S. GE is putting the best people and the best technologies together to take on the toughest challenges. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. www.ge.com **

BIRTHDAY TOMORROW: Evan Kaufman, Lazard Analyst, former White House National Economic Council (hat tip: Whitney) … MONDAY: Joan VandeHei … Nick Rathod, Assistant Director for Intergovernmental and International Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, formerly with the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (h/t his former IGA colleagues)

WEEKEND WEDDING: Annie Vesoulis and Zach Wilkes, known as “Zannie” around Washington and Lee's campus,” marry today in Toledo, Ohio. The wedding will take place at Toledo's Botanical Garden, followed by a reception at the Historic Valentine Theater. Zach and Annie met at W&L, where he was political chair and she was publications chair for the school's 2012 Mock Convention. They will return to Lexington for law school together in the fall.

MAZEL TOV to Grant Campbell, Director of Advance for Obama for America, and Julia Moseley, Presidential Advance Lead for the White House, who will marry tonight at The City Museum in St Louis.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD – Rob Hoppin emails: “We're excited to have welcomed Thomas Royce Hoppin into the world [Friday] morning. He weighed in at 6 pounds and 3 ounces and is 20 inches long. We're blessed that he is as healthy as can be, and mom is doing great. Special thanks to the folks at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville for accommodating walk-ins! Best, Rob & Jill” Pichttp://bit.ly/NvOIvH

ROBIN ROBERTS of “Good Morning America,” on Facebook: “My sister, Sally-Ann, went through a lot of tests today in preparation for being my bone marrow donor. She was such a trooper. A long day and she had a smile on her face the entire time. I, on the other hand, couldn't stop crying. … If you know anyone who has been any type of donor...please give them a big hug for me. They are angels like my big sis. Wishing all a wonderful weekend. Continued blessings.” Pic of Robin, her sister and Diane Sawyerhttp://on.fb.me/Ohgz1N

WHERE IN THE WORLD? “Clinton visits Afghanistan ahead of Tokyo talks,” by AFP’s Jo Biddle in Kabul: “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit Saturday on the eve of a major conference in Tokyo in which Afghanistan is set to seek billions of dollars in civilian aid. ‘Considering that we are almost literally flying by, the secretary wanted to be able to stop in Kabul en route to Tokyo, in large part just to check signals before this last major, significant ministerial conference,’ a senior State Department official told reporters travelling with Clinton. The top US diplomat [held] breakfast talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul.”

THE PRESIDENT’S WEEK AHEAD: “On Saturday, the President will remain at Camp David. On Sunday, the President will return to the White House. … On Tuesday, the President will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to deliver remarks at a campaign event and will return to Washington, DC in the evening. On Friday, the President will travel to Virginia for campaign events before returning to Washington, DC in the evening. On Saturday, the President will travel to Virginia for campaign events before returning to Washington, DC in the evening.”

--AP Political Writer Bob Lewis in Richmond: “[P]lans call for him to appear in Hampton, Virginia Beach and Roanoke on a campaign swing across the battleground state. … Other stops were also penciled in for the Richmond suburb of Henrico County and for an undetermined stop in Washington, D.C.'s northern Virginia suburbs.”

MEDIAWATCH – WashPost Ombudsman Patrick B. Pexton, in Sunday’s paper, “Storm coverage that needed more energy” (online hed: “Storm coverage: The Post didn’t pass the test”): “Was The Post’s coverage what it could be? I think not, and readers agreed. Here’s what one wrote in an e-mail: … ‘As someone who has lost power, why can’t The Post give a realistic assessment of what is going on, other than official statements? … And to stick to the government’s and Pepco’s script on coverage is bizarre. Anyone in the middle of it now reading Post stories might have the impression that we’d already made the transition to stories written by computer and algorithm.’ The overall impression I got from readers, and from my own observations as someone who lost power for a relatively manageable 57 hours, is that The Post was okay but not great. Stories had too much officialdom, too little humanity.

“Coverage was not aggressive enough, and it had too little depth, breadth and creativity. … I think too few reporters were out in the neighborhoods, in their cars or on two legs, using their eyes, ears and noses to get the news from different perspectives. … This storm revealed systemic weaknesses in Washington area infrastructure — in electricity, telephones, 911 services, police response and information technology. But I saw almost no coverage of how the outages affected businesses, the federal and local governments or military installations. … Vernon Loeb, Post Local editor, said, ‘I would stack our coverage against any of our competitors’, and we outcovered everybody.’ Perhaps, but in a crisis like this, the standard should be higher. The Post is not a mere observer; it provides a public service in relaying vital information to people who need it. For the next storm, The Post needs to do better.” http://wapo.st/N2XO5l

DESSERT – “Rolling Stones keep giving satisfaction, 50 years on” – AFP/London: “Most London shoppers rush by 165 Oxford Street without a second glance -- but it was there 50 years ago that The Rolling Stones played their first gig and changed the landscape of pop music forever. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones played The Marquee Club on July 12, 1962 with three others, the first time they performed under the band name which would become synomymous worldwide with excess and musical flair. Childhood friends Jagger and Richards were aged just 18 at the time and Jones -- who drowned in the swimming pool at his home in 1969 -- was 20 years old.

“But it was at the club -- now a branch of Santander bank -- that the seeds were sown of worldwide success which, half a century on, has seen the British band notch up over 200 million album sales globally. … The band's longevity can partly be attributed to their ability to absorb the evolving sounds of recent decades, with disco, reggae and punk influences all revealing themselves in later releases.” http://bit.ly/Ne1mk8

--CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS Live”: (SUN 10am ET / 1pm ET): President-elect of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto; roundtable with the Legatum Institute’s and Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum, former British Minister of State for Africa, Asia, and the United Nations Lord Mark Malloch Brown, author and National University of Singapore’s Kishore Mahbubani (“The Great Convergence: Asia, The West, and the Logic of One World”) and the College of Europe’s and the French Institute for International Relations’ Dominique Moisi; economic roundtable with former managing director of Bain & Co. and Romney campaign economic advisor Edward Conard and American entrepreneur and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer

--MSNBC’s “Up with Chris Hayes” (SUN 8-10am ET): Co-authors Thomas Mann and Norm Ornstein (“The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get it Back on Track”); Salon’s Joan Walsh; author and NYU’s Eric Klinenberg (“Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago”)

** A message about What Works: In two years, GE has announced plans to create more than 14,000 jobs. We have also committed to building or expanding more than 15 new manufacturing plants in the U.S. From a new locomotive manufacturing plant in Texas to an aircraft engine composites factory in Mississippi, GE is putting the best people and the best technologies together to take on the toughest challenges. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works: www.ge.com **